West Manchester Township discussed participation in the federal 287(g) program on July 26, 2026, after supervisors postponed a March vote following public opposition, according to FOX43. The agreement allows participating local officers to assist with limited immigration enforcement during their police work. The discussion is now part of the circumstances surrounding the detention of York County pastor Molis Augustave.
WITF reported that West Manchester officers stopped Augustave in York on Sept. 4 and contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which took him into custody and transferred him to Louisiana. Published accounts differ over the vehicle issue: WITF described a burned-out headlight, while the Miami Herald reported a broken taillight. The available reporting does not resolve the discrepancy. The Miami Herald also reported that Augustave was working as a DoorDash driver and had a valid license.
Why ICE says removal remains possible
Augustave has a final order of removal after an immigration judge rejected his asylum application in 2018, according to WITF. He had been protected from removal through Temporary Protected Status, but that protection ended in July. In Mullin v. Doe, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal law generally bars judicial review of nonconstitutional challenges to the termination of TPS designations, including those involving Haiti, according to the Supreme Court opinion.
The Miami Herald reported that Augustave's wife's Form I-130 petition for a family relationship was approved while he pursued a route to permanent residency. That approval does not itself grant immigration status or a green card. The same report said Augustave was expected to be placed on an ICE charter flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, to Haiti as soon as Thursday. ICE has also said it is offering up to $3,000 and free flights to people who choose to leave voluntarily, according to the Miami Herald.
What the 287(g) agreement allows
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the 287(g) Task Force Model lets participating officers exercise limited immigration authority during routine police duties while operating under ICE direction and supervision. An ICE supervisor determines next steps. The available verified material does not establish how many Pennsylvania law-enforcement agencies currently participate or identify the specific authorities granted under each agency's agreement.
What the available 287(g) data shows
ICE describes the Task Force Model as delegated, limited immigration authority exercised during routine police work, with ICE supervision of what happens next. The available verified material does not provide the West Manchester memorandum's specific training requirements, duties, supervision rules or complaint procedures, and it does not identify which Pennsylvania agencies signed agreements in 2025 or 2026. Nationwide, ICE reported that as of Sept. 15, 2026, it had signed 2,510 287(g) memorandums of agreement covering 39 states and two U.S. territories. Separately, Spotlight PA reported, citing the Shapiro administration, that Pennsylvania State Police troopers contacted ICE 50 times in 2025 after encounters in which officers learned someone was a foreign national. That figure describes contacts with ICE, not the number of agencies with delegated 287(g) authority; the available material does not otherwise establish how local governments or courts handled ICE detainer requests before West Manchester joined the program.
Local response
Faith leaders and We Are CASA Pennsylvania organized rallies and press conferences in York on Sept. 14, calling for Augustave's release while his status-adjustment case proceeds, WITF reported. The dispute has also raised broader questions about whether local-federal enforcement partnerships can turn routine police encounters into immigration cases. WITF cited an analysis by Solidarity Lancaster that found most York County immigration detentions came through local law enforcement.
The Miami Herald reported that Augustave arrived in the United States in 2016 and had participated in advocacy for Haitian TPS beneficiaries. Details about his family and detention conditions are not included here because they were reported in that newspaper's original coverage and are not necessary to explain the local enforcement arrangement.
WITF reported that ICE has kept Augustave in custody pending removal. The Miami Herald reported that ICE had shifted from monthly to weekly Haiti flights and that hundreds of Haitians had been deported since July. The available material does not establish that this article independently verified those figures or independently interviewed Augustave, his family, officials or advocates.
